Assessment of social sustainability hotspots in the supply chain of lithium-ion batteries

Lithium-ion batteries are considered a key component in mobile and stationary energy storage applications. However, the current technology is based on several critical materials, such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and graphite, which are associated with various environmental and social impacts in their supply chain. While the environmental impacts of lithium-ion batteries have been investigated in numerous studies, little attention has been given to the potential social impacts. Therefore, an assessment of the social sustainability hotspots of lithium-ion batteries is carried out. The assessment is based on a spatially differentiated resource flow model of the supply chain. Data on social risks with respect to child labor, corruption, occupational toxics and hazards, and poverty are extracted from the Social Hotspots Database in openLCA. The results of the social assessment are discussed along with environmental and economic considerations to generate recommendations for improving supply chain sustainability.

Subjects

Lithium-ion batteries

Social Hotspots Database

Social life cycle assessment

Supply chain

DDC Class

600: Technik

Publication version

publishedVersion

Lizenz

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

Name

1-s2.0-S2212827118312885-main.pdf

Size

1.02 MB

Format

Adobe PDF

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Assessment of social sustainability hotspots in the supply chain of lithium-ion batteries